Ejector for oil-wells



EJEGTOR FOR OIL WELLS.

L I E ,0- W a d 0 M 0 W No. 4251324.. PatentedfA p r. 15,-189'0.

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UNITED STATES PATE T OFFICE.

IVILLIAM ONEIL, OF GIJADE, YVARREN COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA.

a ECTOR FOR OIL-WELLS.

SPEGIFICATIbNforming part of Letters Patent No. 425,624, dated April 15, 1890.

Application filed June 10, 1889. Serial No. 313,697. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that LWILLIAM ONEIL, a citizen of the United .States, and a resident of Glade township, in the county of \Varren and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Ej ectorsfor Oil-Wells, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to means for causing oil-wells to flow, intended for use in cases where the natural conditions are such as to require the application of extraneous instrumentalities to produce a profitable flow of the oil.

In carrying out my invention I make use of the well-known mode of increasing the flow of the well by forcing compressed air into the pump-tubing.

My invention, however, involves certain novel features, whereby this mode of operation is rendered more efficient, and the results attained are consequently more satisfactory.

To enable those interested in this class of inventions to understand and make use of my improvements, I will now describe the same in connection with the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this description, and wherein like features are indicated by the'same figures of reference in the several views.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical elevation, mainly in section, of a well equipped with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a detached Vertical sectional view of one of the jets or ejectors which are interposed in the line of the oil-discharge pipe, the section being taken at right angles to the-section of Fig. 1 or on line as aof said figure; and Fig. 3 is a crosssection on line 3 'y of Fig. 2:

Referring to the drawings, 4 indicates the casing of the well, which, as usual, extends into the ground or rock far enough only to shut off water. The pipe or tubing through which the oil is generally permitted to flow from the well is indicated by 5, and it is about two inches in diameter. This tubing extends from or'near the bottom of the well to the surface, 'and its bottom is provided with holes 6, as shown, to facilitate the entrance of the oil to the pipe. \Vithiu pipe 5,'I place the tubing 7 of a diameter smaller than that of tubing 5-say one-half inch in diameter. This pipe 7, which I shall call the ejector-tube, extends nearly to the bottom of tubing 5 and into the oil at 'the bottom of said tubing, and it is supported on the packing device 8, as shown.

The device 8 may be of any suitable construction. As shown, it consists of a metal disk 9, secured within tubing 5 and centrally perforated to permit the passagetherethrough of the lower end of the ejector-tube 7. The top surface of this disk is beveled from the Walls of the tubing 5 toward its central opening, and to this beveled surface there is secured in any suitable manner a gasket 10, of rubber or of other suitable pa'cking material, whereby a tight joint isobtained, and theoil thusprevented from rising within tubing 5 above device 8, and the compressed air is pre- ,vented from passing below said valve. In an appropriate position on the lower section of ejector-tube? a metallic ring 11 is shrunk or otherwise firmly fixed, and the under surface of this ring is beveled from the walls of tubing 7 outwardly, so as to form the counterpart of the disk 9. When ring 11 is seated on the packing 10, secured to disk 9, it is plain that an efficient air and oil tight joint is provided, thus keeping the oil and air compartments entirely separated from each other. By this means the oil-flowing tube 5, above device 8, is converted into an air-chamber, from which the oil is always purposely excluded.

The ejector-tube 7 is, as shown, formed of a number of sections and a number of jets or ejectors 12. The ej ectors 12 are constructed, preferably, as shown more particularly in Fig. 2, wherein 13 indicates an interior tube co1nmunicating with passages let, extending from tube 13 to the outside of the ejector 12. The walls of the ejector 12 are preferablybulged, as shown, so as to enlarge the interior chamher to compensate for the space lost by the presence of the inner tube 13, and to enable the ejectors to be secured to the sections of tube 7 their ends are screw-threaded interiorly. The sections of tube 7 and the ejectors 12 may be united by screwing the threaded ends of the tubing directly into the threaded vided by the interior conformation of part a v of said coupling, as shown, part b of the coupling being the usual screw-threaded sleeve, serving to secure part a and tubing 7 to gether.

To prevent the backfiow of oil through inner tube 13 when the pumping of air is sus:

pended, I make the upper end of said tube 13 detachable, as shown, so as to permit the insertion of a valve within the tube.

.16 (of any suitable material) is normally seated as shown in Fig. 2, and when thus seated it completely closes-the bore. of tube 13, so that when .the oil flows back, as it will when the air-pump is stopped, none of it can .enter the air-compartment of tubing 5. Then the compressed air is forced into the air compartment of tubing 5, it cannot pass below device 8, and 'consquently enters the ejectortube 7 through the several passages 14, formed in the ejeetors. The valve 16 is readily lifted by the compressed air, and is seatedcentrally at the upper end of tube 13 and is held in that position as long as the air-pressure is on,and when in this position it oflersno obstruction to the passage of the air through tube 13, the'end of which is perforated in suitable manner around the valve-seat. (See Fig. 3.) The top of easing 4 is provided with a cap17, as usual, and to, thiscap there may be connected a pipe, as 18, through which fuel-gas may be taken if desired. The top of tubing 5 is likewise provided with a cap, as 19, through which the .ejector-tube 7 passes, and to the projecting end'of thelatter tube the pipe 20, which conveys the oil to the tank, is secured. At the upper end 0t tubing 5 the pipe 21 for compressed air enters said tubing, as indicated.

The manner in which my invention operates will be understood from the above description and the accompanying drawings. It is plain, of course, that when the parts are constructed and arranged as shown in the drawings the compressed air (or I may use natural gas with equally goodresults) entering pipe 21 will fill the compressed-airchamber of tube 5 above device 8 and pass into the ejectors 1 2, th rough their several passages 14, and thence through tube13, and thence This valve .of April, A. n. 1889.

through-the constriction above said tube 13 into the tube' 7, from whence it flows out through pipe 20. This movement of the compressed ai-r tends to produce a vacuum below device 8, with the obvious resultof causing the 6! oil to flow upward through the ejector-tube 7 to the surface. The ejectors constructed and operating as herein explained are found to materially increase the efliciency of the compressed air in this mode of flowing oil-wells.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In flowing oil-wells, the combination, with the main tube of thewell provided with a compressed-air pipe or inlet, of an ejectortube located within the main tube and provided with a series of ejectors and communieating at its lower end with said main tube, and a packing device located within the main tube below the lowermost ejector and serving to support said ejector-tube as well as to prevent the intermingling of the oil and compressed air within t-he compressed-air chamber of said main tube, substantially as set forth. I

2. In flowing oil-wells, the combination, with the main tube of the well provided interiorly near its lower end with 1 orated disk, as 9, having a beveled surface, to which is secured a gasket, as shown, of a sci a centrally-persecond tube of smaller diameter, provided exteriorly near its lower end with a ring, as 10, having its bottom surface beveled and cooperatingwith the correspondiugly-beveled surface of disk 9, arranged within said main tube and composed of a series of ejectors and a series of short tube-sections, said ejectors provided with passages communicating with the main tube, aeompressed-air, pipe entering the main tube at its top, and an oil-discharge pipe connected to the top of the ejector-tube, substantially as set forth.

In flowing oil-wells, an ejector having an inner tube, as 13, provided with a valve, as shown, and having passages furnishing communication between the outside of said ejector and said inner tube 13, in combination with a coupling composed of parts a and b, that end of the former a which enters the ejector 11 provided with a constriction having a funnelshaped mouth, substantially as set forth.

Signed at \Varren, in the county of Warren and State of Pennsylvania, this 26th day WM. ONEIL.

Witnesses:

CHAS. DINSMODR, JOHN QRAMER. 

